


Just Ask Away

by writershapeholeonthedoor



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Cute, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Love, Love Triangles, Marriage Proposal, Romance, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 07:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20238922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writershapeholeonthedoor/pseuds/writershapeholeonthedoor
Summary: Shaw is trying to ask Root to marry her, however she’s having some troubles.





	Just Ask Away

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr, @imagineheadcanonsarea.  
English is not my first language, so please let me know if there're anything wrong.

“Don’t go buying me that blender just yet, Harry.”

Shaw learned through the years that Root talked the craziest nonsense ever. Once she walked in a conversation the hacker was having with Fusco while she was in midsentence of saying “if he didn’t have T-Rex arms, the penguin wouldn't have bit his toe”, which made less sense at the time than any other thing Shaw ever heard her saying. Because of that, she slowly got used to it, to the point where she simply ignored most of the things Root says.

Which she was planning to do after hearing something about a blender, but that thought quickly throw out of the window when she spotted the other two occupants of the subway. Finch was, well, Finch, there was nothing different on him, but Root on the other hand...

Shaw was not the most romantic person that ever walked on Earth, in fact, anyone could testify and say that she could be at the bottom of the list easily, but there were some moments that she wished she was because that would be very useful in situations like that one. She wished she had more things to say, that her brain could actually form words, anything that she could say to make Root have a glimpse of what was going on inside her head.

“Uh.” That wasn’t even a word. And that wasn’t supposed to escape her lips. Shaw quickly closed her mouth, clenching her jaws so strongly that for a second she was worried about her teeth. Anything to stop herself from saying anything more stupid, she thought. A grunt, really?

“Hi, sweetie.” Oh, no, now she was smiling. Shaw felt her chest tighten when a heat rushed over her, her heart started to beat faster and, suddenly, her cheeks were too hot. Everything was too hot. And Root was getting closer and closer.

Root’s face had lighted like a Christmas tree and Shaw could see all of it because her hair was perfectly done, arranged in a messy yet perfect bun. Her face was covered with light make-up and her eyes managed to look even more honey-colored than ever. Her left hand was holding the silk of her dress to stop the edges to touch the dirty floor, while her right hand was holding a cup of coffee. Her cup of coffee, Shaw’s cup. Just when she was two steps from colliding in Shaw, Root stopped quirking her lips up in a mischievous smile, bringing the cup to her lips to hide it not fast enough.

“That’s my cup.” At least it wasn’t a grunt, but it made Shaw want to hit her head in the closest wall all the same. God, that’s all she could say? Root was standing in front of her, using a fucking wedding dress, and looking like the prettiest bride in the world, and that was all Shaw could manage? Maybe she should let the next number shot her.

Root only arched one eyebrow, taking a sip of the hot liquid. “I know.” She lowered the cup from her lips, now smiling completely, before turning it around so the big blue letters were facing the marine. “See?” ‘Sam’ never seemed more of an insult than in that second and, yet, Shaw couldn’t pay attention to the stupid cup Root had given her months ago.

Shaw’s eyes moved without her will, scanning Root’s body like she was about to jump her. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do once she did it – maybe strip her down or, even worse, hug her – so Shaw took the safe way out. “Well, where are yours? I want mine back.” She even crossed her arms to add more effect to it.

Of course, Root could see right through her. The hacker grinned harder, shaking her head just a little bit in amusement. “Do you want to know where I was?” She moved her hips side to side a couple of times, making her white dress swirl around her legs – Shaw swallowed hard.

“Was it...” Shaw hated that she had to clean her throat to make her voice less hoarse. “Was it the Stupid Costume Contest?” The former marine almost frowned at herself, she was sure she could do better than that if her brain was working the way it was supposed to be.

“No, silly.” Root rolled her eyes, clearly mocking her, but Shaw didn’t punch her for that. “I was...” Her eyes suddenly wandered off, staring at something behind Shaw’s shoulder, her smile fading away as the seconds went by. Shaw would have turned around to see what caused that reaction if she already didn’t know what was going on. There was only one thing that could put that look in Root’s face – something between pure excitement and annoyance. “Well, that was fun.” She finally said, snapping back to reality.

Root’s happy smile was replaced by a fake one, her eyes weren’t sparkling with joy anymore and her face looked a little bit greyer. Shaw hated – honestly, truly hated – it. She hated that She could do that to Root, cut her happiness, and throw her in crazy situations – and that Root would do anything She told her to.

“You can finish this.” Root took another sip from the cup, before handing it to Shaw. “I have to run.” The hacker took a deep breath. “A shame, really, because I had to return this dress in a few hours. You know, someone might actually use it.” She winked at Shaw, who still had to move – or say something else. “See you later, sweetie.”

Shaw didn’t realize that she hadn’t moved until Finch cleared his throat somewhere in the room. She had also forgotten he was even there. Shaw blinked a couple of times, slowly returning to reality, before looking at the mug in her hand – she was looking at it, but she wasn’t actually seeing it. All she could see was an astonishing brunette with honey-colored eyes wearing a white dress and smiling like Shaw had just given her the sun and stars.

“Ms. Shaw?” Finch was clearly starting to get a little worried – if not uncomfortable – that his companion hadn’t moved in almost ten minutes.

“I think I need your help with something, Finch.”

* * *

In retrospect, Shaw should have realized that it was a stupid idea to ask for help. Finch was good at keeping secrets, that was basically their only job description, but he was not good at keeping stuff he was excited for, so not even two days later Reese and Fusco had already approached her to give their own advice. Which made her realize that one: Fusco was the only one of them who could actually say anything; and two: she didn’t want to hear Fusco.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The three men kept cornering her at every opportunity, touching her shoulder to stop her from turning around – Shaw hated to be touched and she hated that she couldn’t break their noses for that. And really all of their ideas were completely stupid, outrageous even.

Flashmob. A bed of roses. A billboard. Frosting in a cake. Or a pizza. A picnic at the park. Mariachis. A puppy. Gen. She draw the line when they tried to bring Gen to it. It was her problem, no one had the right to stuck their noses at it – but, again, maybe she shouldn’t have talked with Finch about it.

“Sweetie.” Root’s voice was soothing, she was almost singing while walking inside the subway like she owned the place – which, if you thought about it, was probably true. “I got your text.” The hacker had both hands inside the pockets in her leather jacket and a glad grin turning the corner of her lips up.

Shaw decided to make it simple. She was going to take Root out for a walk in the park – the park nearby that had an ice cream shop that Root seemed to really like – and she was just going to ask.

God.

She was going to ask Root to marry her.

Fuck.

“Yeah, uh –“ Shaw swallowed back a ball that rose in her throat. “I will take Bear and meet you outside.” She tried not to wince when Root suddenly stopped in her tracks, leaning her head to the side in wonder.

But Root still hadn’t acquired the habit of questioning her, so she wasn’t surprised when the other woman nodded. “Sure.” And just like that she turned around in her heels and walked back from where she had come from, humming along with a song that only she could hear.

Shaw let a heavy breath go, only then realizing that she was holding her breath. Her shoulders dropped and she closed her eyes, trying to gain back some strength. She felt ridiculous and the gazing eyes pinching in her back weren’t helping.

“You know she will say ‘yes’.” Fusco offered as gently as he could.

The Persian woman didn’t turn around to face the three men behind her, feeling like a coward for the first time in her life. “Whatever.”

* * *

A month later, she found herself in the same situation: people glaring at her, feeling like a coward, and still without a fiancé. Shaw had chickened out so many times since she decided to do it, that she was even questioning herself if she actually wanted it. But every time she thought about it she had no doubts. Yes, she wanted it. She was scared, of course, terrified with the unsure future, to have to deal with something she didn’t know what to expect from, but she wanted it. With Root.

She wanted to marry Root.

And yet, she couldn’t ask her.

The day in the park, the first time she ever tried, Shaw started to shake so badly that Bear’s leash started to make enough noise to distract both of them. And all the other times – and believe it, there were a lot of them – the usher feeling of rejection would blind her and take all the courage she felt. Shaw could barely recognize herself anymore, but she soothed herself by saying that it was different from holding a gun and shooting people.

“By the time you actually do it, I think my grandkids will already be having grandkids,” Fusco said one day after another failure. Shaw had walked out the subway that day proclaiming that she was going to take Root out to a date, with a nice restaurant included, and that night was going to be the night, only to give up after the first two minutes in the dinner. When she walked in the next morning, the three men where holding identical hopeful smiles, only to be crushed when Shaw shook her head.

And even if Shaw growled her answer at him – “shut the fuck up or you will be smiling from your stomach because that’s where all your teeth will go to” – she still couldn’t stop thinking that he was right, at least a little bit. Not that she was going to say it out loud. So, after all of those failed attempts to propose, Shaw finally decided to just do it. She was going to walk to Root, stop right in front of her, and ask. Yes, that was it.

Shaw didn’t even realize that she stormed out in the middle of Reese’s story about a baseball game or whatever. She just kept staring across the room to where Root was typing in her keyboard while giggling with Finch like they were best friends – hacker best friends – and that overwhelming feeling, that she was feeling a lot lately, just made her get up and walk to her. Just ask, she kept saying in her head. Ask now.

But, as soon as she stopped in front of Root’s desk and the hacker looked up at her, Shaw felt her throat closing while all air escaped her lungs. She saw with the corner of her eyes that Finch was looking at her with an expectant glare, while Root just looked at her with a smirk and glowing eyes.

Shaw flicked her tongue to moist her lips, suddenly feeling like her mouth had just become a desert, but the words wouldn’t come. “Uh –“

Root arched one perfect eyebrow and crossed her hands across her keyboard. “Yes, Sam?”

The marine couldn’t stop the heat that rushed up to her chest and her face, and the glint in Root’s eyes became too much for her, so Shaw moved her eyes to glance anywhere but the hacker and her stupid smile. God, she was such a coward. “That’s my cup.” Her voice held no viciousness, she sounded rather sad actually, but Shaw didn’t give anyone the time to say anything. She leaned, grabbed the cup, the one with ‘Sam’ write in it, and walked away like she was being chased by killers.

She tried not to shrink in herself when she saw Reese’s disappointed look, or Fusco shaking his head, or Finch cleaning his throat unpleased. She missed Root’s sad smile.

* * *

When another month went by and she yet had no success, Shaw finally came to the conclusion that it was just not going to happen. She could chase down murderers, she could stare back at a gun, she could be tortured, she could jump from a plane if she had to, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Shaw simply couldn’t open her mouth and form words, real words, not just grunts, to ask Root to marry her. It had driven her insane and she hated every second of it.

That’s why she put the ‘operation’ in the hold. Finch didn’t react when she informed the guys of her new plan – to drop her previous plan – but Reese rolled his eyes and Fusco tried to change her mind. No one said another thing after she threatens to shot their kneecaps and she was glad to see that her actions in the previous months didn’t make her look any less deadly.

And since Shaw was so good at doing that – hide from her own thoughts – her brain had managed to spend almost three weeks without thinking about it. About proposals and marriages. And Root. That’s why she was so surprised when she opened the wardrobe’s door and found a white silk dress resting inside it between leather jackets and flannels. A wedding dress. The one Root was using when all that confusion started.

“Sweetie, pizza is here!” Yes, she heard the first time Root said it before the hacker decided to run out of the apartment before Shaw could say anything else. That’s why Shaw walked out of the bathroom using only a tank top and boxers in such a hurry – she was really hungry.

Shaw slowly pulled some random pants out of the wardrobe, barely paying attention to it, while her eyes burned holes in the white dress so carefully placed there. She was so distracted that she first time she tried to pull the pants up, she put both legs in the right leg role. With a frown, Shaw finally put her pants on – she didn’t realize it was Root’s pants until later – and, like she was living a dream, grabbed the hanger holding the dress and slowly, so slow that her shoulder actually started to burn a little, took the dress out of the wardrobe.

“Sammie, pizza is-” Root stopped on her track, almost hitting the doorframe in her hurry to stop. The surprise in her face only lasted a second, before a smile came into her face in full force. “Is there a reason why you have a wedding dress in your hands, sweetie?”

“Don’t call me Sammie.” Shaw’s words were nothing but a whisper and held no actual intention behind them. In fact, it looked like she just said it out of habit, since her eyes were still glued at the silk in her hands. “What’s this?”

Root shrugged, trying to look as innocent as she could manage. “I could ask you the same, you know.”

“It wasn’t here this morning.” The shorter woman finally turned her eyes to stare back at Root, holding back a scoff.

“Well...” Root took a step forward, crossing her arms to stop her hands to go out and grab Shaw’s. “You see, funny story.” She chuckled happily. “The store called me today and said I could go take it because the adjustments were done already. So I did.”

“Adjustments?” Shaw’s eyebrows almost got lost in her hairline. “For what?”

“The waist was a bit large and I asked them to cut the edges a little more. You know, not a nun’s dress.”

“Root...”

The hacker smiled at the dangerous tone Shaw was suddenly using. The woman’s patience was going away very fast, but, lucky for them, Root had plenty of it. “Yes, sweetie?”

Shaw flicked her tongue in her lips, before putting the dress on top of the bed so she could also cross her arms. “Do you have another alias?”

“Nope.” Root popped the ‘p’ with a giggle. Shaw was now holding a grimace and it was just too fun to resist laughing again. “Is there anything you want to ask me, Sameen?”

Shaw clenched her jaws and bite her cheeks with strength enough to draw out blood. Root could almost hear the wheels turning inside her head. “You know?”

“Oh, sweetie, since day one.” Root laughed loudly now, shaking her head fondly to the other woman. “Not very subtle.” She shrugged. “Also, I heard Fusco talking with Finch about it.”

The former marine’s lips snarled to that and there was a glint in her eyes that could only mean both men were not going to live for too long. “I see.” Her voice had become a whisper, something not so unusual, but no less startling.

Root rolled her eyes fondly, finally reaching out to place her hands in Shaw’s face. “Don’t be silly, sweetie. You know I’m very good at sneaking.” She winked and smiled when a light blush colored the woman’s ears. “Among other things.”

Shaw scoffed, rolled her eyes, and stepped back to exit the embrace Root was engulfing her in. She turned around and started to walk around the room, randomly picking things up and placing them somewhere else to keep her hands, and mind, busy. “If you say so.”

“Sam.” Root took a deep breath before speaking again. She knew that she had to take care of her next words or things would blow in her face. “I thought it was cute. You know, every time you tried.” She tried not to let any type of emotion play in her voice, because she knew that Shaw would not react well with compassion or, God forbid, pity. Instead, her tone was glad and timid even. “Although, it was starting to get a little old.”

And frustrating, she wanted to add. For months, Root saw Shaw giving up in the last minute time after time. Just like she said, Shaw wasn’t being very subtle about it, so Root knew the instant Shaw set her mind in a plan and she knew, she could see clear as day when the other woman’s eyes would start to get darker and hollower as her courage started to falter. She could see, literally, the exact moment Shaw gave up from popping the question. The woman’s eyes told her away, like always. And time after time, Root had to hide her own disappointment and pretend that nothing was wrong in the world.

Until she decided to take the subject in hands. To be honest, the store did, in fact, called her the day before to say she could go grab her dress, but the truth was that Root forgot to cancel her reservation after asking Reese to drop the dress for her. And the hacker wasn’t one to ignore a good opportunity when it was knocking on her door – or calling her phone, whatever.

“Jesus, not you too.” Shaw groaned under her breath, grabbing her wet towel from the bed. She was clearly avoiding Root’s eyes, but she didn’t try to leave the room like the hacker thought she would. Shaw just stood there, beside their bed, eyes glued at the wedding dress one more time.

Ignoring the little voice in her brain – totally imaginary, not the real one – that was telling her that maybe, maybe, Shaw actually didn’t want it, Root took a shaky breath and straightened her shoulders. “My favorite one was...”

“Don’t.”

“...with Bear. It could be amazing if he didn’t lose the ring box when he runs to me. But you could train him, I’m sure.” Root smiled a happy and reassuring smile that made Shaw’s shoulders drop a little. She saw Shaw stocking a small box at Bear’s leash one day at the subway station and had the large dog walk around with it, but he kept wiggling it off after a few steps. Root wasn’t ashamed to admit that she kept hiding behind a wall while watching the scene. “Sameen?” Her voice became softer, however, the strong intent was still there and that made Shaw finally meet her eyes. “Will you marry me?” There. Not that hard. Not half as hard as Shaw was making it look like, but Root was not going to linger in that thought for too long. Shaw wasn’t her and she had her own way to deal with things.

“No.” The answer was short and kinda rude, and Root was not fast enough to hide her surprise – or her heartbroken. “No, I mean...” Shaw sighed and licked her lips, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “Don’t do that for me.” Her jaws clenched, but she finally was able to raise her chin and look at Root, actually look at her. “Root?”

The hacker tried not to shudder, but she couldn’t contain the smirk that slowly crooked her lips. “Yes, Sameen?”

Shaw suddenly opened the bottom drawer in the single nightstand by the bedside and took a sock out, from where she took a small red box. A ring box. A real ring box - Root almost pinched herself to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. She knew it was coming, but actually be there and have that happening was something entirely different. Shaw scratched the back of her neck nervously and for a second the taller woman thought she was going to give up again.

“I’m not going to get in my knee.” Shaw almost growled out the words while she opened the box. She took a last glance at it, before turning it to Root – and completely stealing her breath away. “I suppose there’s no one else in the world who can understand me as you do. Even if you don’t.” Her grin gave away her joke, but Root rolled her eyes anyway. “Fusco also said I should tell you you’re my best friend, but you’re probably my only friend, so...” Root actually laughed quietly at that, feeling the back of her eyes starting to burn when tears caused her eyes to blur. “Finch said it was good to bring back a good memory, but we’re holding guns in the best part of them. Not that it’s a problem.” Shaw shrugged like it was nothing even if both of them could see the box shaking in her hands. “Reese said I shouldn’t give a speech because I would suck at it and I’m starting to agree with him.”

The affectionate way that Root scoffed at that made Shaw’s heart skip a beat. “Root.” The name rolled out of her tongue like music, almost reverent, almost like she was saying a God’s name. “You deserve much more than I can give you, but I’m too selfish and not even a little bit altruist, and you knew all of that beforehand.” She took a deep breath – the final one. “But I will try to be better every day if you let me.”

She didn’t ask. Shaw didn’t actually ask. However, she didn’t have to. Root didn’t care – that’s Shaw. “Thought you would never ask.” Root was sure that she was looking like a sick love puppy, staring at Shaw like she was holding the sun, and she gave zero fucks to it.

Shaw, being Shaw, only rolled her eyes, taking the ring out of the red box. It was small, it didn’t have a big diamond on top and it wasn’t gold – the younger woman couldn’t afford any of it – but that didn’t make it any less beautiful or meaningful. “I’m going to shove it down your throat.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Root laughed happily and decided to ignore the single tear that made its way from the corner of her eye when Shaw slid the ring in her finger. “I can’t wait to marry you.”


End file.
